"Five and Dime provides
a glimpse in time"... The Stage’s current production ...
plays with <time> factors toward much more serious ends. ...
The story is straightforward enough but told in a very theatrical
fashion. This is basically a reunion story set in a rapidly decaying
Texas town in 1975. Here the disciples of James Dean hold their 20-year
reunion. Like the similar Big Chill, these grown ups will laugh, reminisce
about their teenage years, go on a big nostalgia tour and reveal some
long repressed secrets. ... What makes the play fascinating is the
way it is told – with some characters playing their present day selves,
others playing their teenage selves and a few fitting in both time
frames. There is an amazing scene in Act II where two time frames
are going on simultaneously as the Jimmy Dean fan club meets across
two decades." --- David Cannon, Montgomery Sentinal,
June 5, 2008 Read
the Article
"... a very well performed show. ... the characters
made you become introspective." "Come Back
to The Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean ... I did enjoy this
show. I did not know what to expect from it. I have heard about it
before. A lot of the details in it are revelations ... Sissy, was
pretty sassy and forthright and told it the way it was. But she did
have a secret as well. ... Joe, the teenager in the 1955 time frame
of the show who was a good friend of Sissy and Mona’s. Slowly we were
introduced to him through other characters talking about Joe back
in 1955. Joanne, the mysterious stranger who showed up for the Jimmy
Dean anniversary party. She had a very strong presence on stage; very
regal. You knew there was something going on with her just by the
way she strode through the door." --- ShowBizRadio, June
5, 2008 Read/Listen
to the Review
Silver Spring Stage presents Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy
Dean, Jimmy Dean, by Ed Graczyk, a comedy/drama of reminiscence
and revelation, directed by Michael Sandner and produced by Michael
Sandner and Brandon R. McWilliams. Humor and heartbreak mingle as
the remaining members of a Texas Jimmy Dean fan club celebrate and
discover deceptions and disappointments. Come Back to the Five
and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean will run weekends May 30 to June
22, 2008. Silver Spring Stage is located in the Woodmoor Shopping
Center, lower level (next to the CVS) at Colesville Road and University
Boulevard. Ticket prices range from $13 to $18. Performances are Friday
and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees on June 8 and June 22
at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.ssstage.org. Information
is also available by calling (301) 593-6036.
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
had its premiere in 1976 in Columbus, Ohio, and was produced Off
Broadway in 1980 and on Broadway in 1982. Though not an initial
success, the play’s theme of how time covers memories too painful
to accept has resonated strongly with audiences ever since. The
Broadway cast – directed by Robert Altman – of Cher, Sandy Dennis,
Kathy Bates and Karen Black reprised their stage roles in Altman’s
1982 movie. Graczyk found the inspiration for the play while working
with a community theatre in Midland, Texas when he visited the nearby
location where Giant was filmed. The flamboyant personalities and
the crumbling film set stirred him to capture the humor and bleakness
of lives in a small Texas town where the past altered lives and
remains a vivid presence. Graczyk wrote that “...Jimmy Dean can
only be described as the result of my own observations and frustrations
with progress that ignores a past; the lack of personalization and
pride and the recurring need of people to build facades to conceal
the truths of their lives. It is the facade that makes abnormal
people seem normal and the sad people seem happy. A personal observation
which I feel makes the people I write about, colorful, theatrical,
but most of all, honest.” We are all shaped by our pasts and those
memories give us the strength to lead our lives. Audiences will
find their own inspiration in the comedy and surprise of Come
Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.
Set in 1975 west Texas during a blistering heat wave, Come
Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean opens at the
20th reunion of the Disciples of James Dean Fan Club in the Five
& Dime whose manager, feisty Bible-banging Juanita (Judith Lowe),
is a reluctant hostess. The few remaining club members include fragile
Mona (Lauren Tobiason), the dime store clerk, who has brought her
memory to life in the person of her son, JimmyDean, who she claims
is the son of the star; pregnant Edna Louise (Sarah Schauffler)
and exuberant Stella May (Terry Toot). Sexy Sissy (Ashley Edmiston),
always the most voluptuous girl in town, still says, "If you've
got 'em, bounce 'em." There's also a mystery guest, the glamorous
Joanne (Natalie Tucker). In an afternoon, the women partake of memories,
nostalgia, self-analysis, accusation, shocking revelations, and
anger. Their memories trigger flashbacks – featuring Young Mona
(Alexandra Smith), Young Sissy (Eve Cox) and Joe (Alex Diehl) –
to 1955 when the proximity of James Dean served as a catalyst in
all of their lives, giving some the courage to realize their dreams
and others, the timid ones, the courage at least to dream them.
The production team includes Brian R. Sekinger (Assistant Director/Stage
Manager), David Steigerwald (Sound Design), Michaelle Carello (Set
Design), Amy Narron (Light Design), Brandon R. McWilliams (Costume
Design), and Sonya Okin (Props Design).
The Stage's 40th anniversary season concludes with the antic comedy
Incorruptible (July 11-Aug. 3). Incorruptible replaces
the originally schedule production of Deathtrap.
Silver Spring Stage is grateful for support from the Arts and
Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Maryland State Arts
Council.
|
May 30 - June 22, 2008